1987 – The Stock Market Crash

How TIME Covered the News: The date was October 19, but we came to remember it solely as Black Monday. That’s because millions of investors worldwide saw their fortunes wiped out over the course of a few volatile hours of trading. The Dow plummeted a total of 508 points, five times its previous worst day ever.

“The news from Tokyo buoys Wall Street, as do the Fed’s reassurances of the previous day on the availability of credit. Major corporations take advantage of greatly discounted prices to buy back large blocks of their own stock. Other bargain hunters also begin to prowl. One broker says the market is moving “from hell to heaven.””